Insta360 has made some of the most fun and interesting cameras in years, and the new Insta360 X3 is no different. In fact, it might just be the most versatile action camera (or camera) you can buy right now.
Like its Insta360 One X2 predecessor, the X3 is a 360-degree camera with two super-wide lenses that capture everything around you, allowing you to "crop" footage into standard film later on. But a host of upgrades mean it's also much more useful as a traditional action camera in "single lens" mode.
One of our biggest gripes with the Insta360 One X2 was that it could only shoot in 1080p resolution with a single lens. But on the X3, you can now shoot in 4K resolution in this 'single lens' mode, which is more like having two cameras in one.
The X3's main draw, however, is its versatile 360-degree modes. It brings a few improvements here, too, including a new 1/2-inch sensor (a step up from the 1/2,3-inch in the X2) plus a new 'Active HDR' mode. While its predecessor offered an HDR video mode, this one appears to use additional processing to help minimize ghosting and increase stabilization.
The X3 doesn't offer a resolution boost for its 360-degree footage (which is still capped at 5.7K/30p) and its video bitrate is still 120Mbps. But there are upgrades to its slow motion modes, with the X3 capable of 4K/120p or 3K/180p recording. The equivalent mode on the One X2 only went above 3K/100p.
The X3 is also likely to be a big hit with social media creators, as its wide-angle footage can easily be converted into a 4:5 Instagram post from a 9:16 TikTok video without major loss. quality. Its larger 2,29-inch display also feels like a boon to usability, compared to the X2's small circular screen.
It's hard to think of another camera that has as long a list of shooting modes as the Insta360 X3, which is waterproof to 10m and available to buy now for €449. You can do invisible selfie stick effects, 8K time-lapse, 72MP photos, looping dash cam videos, and more in the "Shot Lab" found in its companion app. But the big question is how well it all works in reality...
reality check
The main issues we've encountered with Insta360 cameras in the past, especially immediately after launch, are relatively minor software bugs. During our brief stint with the Insta360 X3 so far, that appears to be the case again.
When editing in the Android app, for example, our 360-degree video would sometimes automatically start panning to the right (unless we've enabled direction lock). Downloading certain images like Starlapses to our phones was also difficult, as the process paused indefinitely.
Insta360 is investigating these issues and they are most likely pre-release bugs that will eventually be fixed in the firmware. We're also impressed with the X3 as a whole, especially with its new screen and the wide range of shooting modes it offers.
Naturally, it's primarily designed to produce unique social media clips and won't bother the best video cameras for absolute video quality. But it's also more flexible than just about any camera we can imagine, from GoPro to smartphones to full-frame beasts.
360 cameras have steadily grown from niche beginnings to powerful tools in the arsenals of all kinds of creators. One TechRadar writer even successfully used a 360 camera as a wedding videographer, to complement his human snapper.
Its unique advantage is being able to decide where to point the camera in the scene after the video has been shot. We'll let you know very soon if the Insta360 X3 really is the best 360 camera you can buy in our full review.